Telling Less than Half the Story: Crime Scene: Bucha

November 6, 2022

(rough, incomplete) Updates Nov. 8

Crime Scene Bucha: How Russian Soldiers Ran a "Cleansing" Operation in Ukraine | FRONTLINE - YouTube Crime Scene Bucha: How Russian Soldiers Ran a "Cleansing" Operation in Ukraine | FRONTLINE

How Russian Soldiers Ran a "Cleansing" Operation in Bucha - By ERIKA KINETZ, OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI and VASILISA STEPANENKO November 3, 2022 - https://apnews.com/article/bucha-ukraine-war-cleansing-investigation-43e5a9538e9ba68a035756b05028b8b4

This revives yet again the mass-execution of clandestine TDF fighters at 144 Yablunska, as a stand-in for some 400 killings of various types lumped together as the "Bucha Massacre." Previous reports by the New York Times and others included a constant stream of new video proof. I had initial doubts from the unexplained scene and about even that video evidence of Russian occupiers and men with matching close marched to the site in their stocking feet. But that doubt pretty well evaporated soon after an early  post on a "false-flag"possibility. I replaced that in the same space with quick notes on how it was seeming more like a genuine Russian war crime. I did some research past that, but never worked up a publishable post until now.

The new Frontline and AP reports add yet more video, plus great 3D visuals, and new details, some included by accident. Here is the scene of the crime modeled, the 8 bodies on the left side marked by floating pins - an effect I rather like. Shelling damage around the area seems to come later than these March 4 killings - there's no sign of it in video from March 3 and 5, the latter showing at least some of the bodies.

Timothy Snyder heralded the new AP report as showing how "The killing of civilians in Bucha was deliberate and systematic, as it has been throughout Russian-occupied Ukraine." At 8:45 in the video is a purported phone call from a Russian soldier telling his mother they all drink alcohol because it makes it "easier to shoot civilians. ... We have the order: it does not matter whether civilians or not. Kill everyone. ... I've already killed so many civilians." 

But I have doubts about the audio's legitimacy, and it doesn't jibe well with the clearer evidence presented. Consider... 

* The same AP report explains how after rounding up dozens of locals at 144 Yablunska, the Russians "let most of the civilians go that day, first the women, then the men. But the volunteers were not released." The volunteers were clandestine Territorial Defense fighters, but included one civilian who was sheltering them. They apparently were then executed, in what would be a war crime. But in that "systematic killing of civilians" the system is to filter out the fighters hiding among the and endangering the civilians, to kill them at least in this case, and let the true civilians go. That's not the worst system anyone's ever come up.

* The other case AP and Frontline detail is of Dmytro "Dima" Chaplyhin. He may be "baby-faced" and I'm not arguing he deserved to be killed, but he was military and was observing Russian military movements, probably to help get them killed. At 10:25: the Russians discovered his military cap hidden in a closet, his grandmother admits he was "defending Kyiv." He was killed separately from the others but nearby.

* At 7:05 notice that even when you're actually fighter they already tried to execute, when they think you're an injured civilian - like alleged survivor Ivan Skyba says - they take you to 144 Yablunska, give you medical care, and let you go. That's part of this system of killing civilians that even its violent opponents admit to. 

Allegedly, they have order to "kill everyone," civilians included. They get drunk so they can do that easier. Then ... they don't do that. Because being drunk makes them nicer? Because the real orders do NOT tell them to kill everyone? 

mysteries in this one corner that seem to confirm executions and more but also to involved unexplained shelling - but the connection is not always clear - and also a bulk or area deaths left unexplained, including what would be the single biggest concentration of bodies I know of - eleven in one spot.

Dmytro "Dima" Chaplyhin

Linked images show his body in a spot I had recently geolocated, and map it at the same spot. I cited some photos and a video taken with the Ukrainian investigators, and of some interest now: Ukrainian investigators uncover evidence of torture, killings in Bucha - Washington Post on YouTube - ... along with three other bodies seen in the video and in some photos. Dima is D here.

Bodies A, B, and C had unclear cause of death - possible shooting, possible shelling.  C has a separated head. Predation was probably involved, and maybe some decay, after some extreme shelling damage - probably not a beheading. All 3 seem just "dumped" here, but then B and C have a possible shelling crater in the dirt just a few meters up the road. A in particular was dead some time. He's got discarded junk nearby - bits of ammunition crates and the like splintered by shelling.

These other three, oddly, are NOT included in the map pins in the Frontline video (fading in at 1:39, my outer 3 bodies would be on the far right).

Various injuries seen in the video - back of the head, back, maybe hand - Some blood looks fresh, but his hands are wrinkled from many days in the damp - signs of shelling near his body - scattered fragments into the wall and windows, through a metal plate, apparently from the other side - so a detonation between that and the wall? (tiny red dots in the image at right are visible in a new tab view) A fired shell? A "hail of bullets"? other coincidence? In either case, it's not necessarily connected to his death, but worth considering.

The name on this body is new, but it rang a bell. Digging back now I realize this story had another twist. Early WaPo report: 

"On the gravel near a loading dock lay the body of Dmytro Chaplyhin, 21, whose abdomen was bruised black and blue, his hands marked with what looked like cigarette burns. He ultimately was killed by a gunshot to the chest, concluded team leader Ruslan Kravchenko. His body then was turned into a weapon, tied to a tripwire connected to a mine."

Or did a mine go off here? Who set it up? The video shows his chest pretty fully - no wound to the chest that I see.  no tripwire visible by then, and the body has been moved - shoe half-off, pant leg tugged.

The Group of 8 "Volunteers"

new here: system of 3 checkpoints at this end of Yablunska, where Ukrainian troops were operating at 144 until early afternoon on3rd, lighting up Russian or whoever's vehicles with RPGs - Russians advancing on foot from the SW just moments later - people brought there - seen calmly gathered maybe under some tent? - to review and absorb. Interesting bit: RPG and a fleeing vehicle not being hit - then a burning car just past the very blue house - sometime between 12:54 and 1:34. 

That's the same one seen burning in drone video of clashes around the checkpoint at 31 Yablunska - to me looking later in the day. We can say later than 12:54 anyway. The very blue house is visible here, about that close to this burning car. Skyba told BBC "He saw a white Renault being struck and a woman and her children trapped inside the burning car." Did he see WHO struck it?

It was around 1PM when the Ukrainians fled 144 Yablusnka, like one other checkpoint already had, and the less-equipped guys at 31 Yablunska - even closer to the Russians - also meant to do. But as they say, they somehow didn't get out in time, and were cut off. But they may have provoked fire. 4 flashes seen in a March 3 video are probably tank fire, not RPG shells sent the other way (as I stupidly decided at one point). Their line of fire includes the checkpoint, not the already burning car, nor the abandoned position further east at 144. 

Narrative from compiled reports (details vary), At this checkpoint were 8 TDF volunteers: Ivan Skyba, unnamed traitor, Anatoliy Prykhidko, Andriy Verbovyi, Svyatoslav Turovskyi, Vitaliy Karpenko. Andriy Dvornikov and Denys Rudenko, the man wearing the blue sweatshirt in the video. One guy used the binoculars, one held the rifle, one held the grenade, one ran the radio, four others were just for moral support? 

Supporting a true panic and poor planning, when they "decided to try to hide" they stashed their one rifle and grenade (plus anything else they don't admit to) and took shelter in the house their obvious military checkpoint was directly in front of, 31 Yablunska street. owned by Valera Kotenko. "The 53-year-old had given them hot drinks and food. He offered shelter now." and so "the nine men hid." Soon the Russians came inside, and they didn't buy whatever denials they heard, Nine guys still in town to "watch the house" when it's the same house next to an obvious military checkpoint? That's not really hiding. 

One clandestine TDF fighter was already killed as the 9 seen were arrested, by reports. Andriy Matviychuk went missing, was there dead on the back porch when the others were brought to the killing site. No body is ever seen there, but his body was likely moved. It would probably be the closest one, seen later  at the bottom of the stairs, with the bound hands and split skull. 

The Russians apparently wanted an admission of militancy the militants were not allowed to give. Karpenko was killed first as an example, while they were in front of the building. One in the group ratted them out as "secret" TDF, was spared, and is now wanted for treason. One other (Verbovyi) was killed inside under torture. The 6 others were marched around the corner where Matviychuk already was and, as the story is told, were shot. Prykhidko tried to run and was shot first, then the rest were killed in a hail of bullets rather than in clean executions. 2 survived, then one was discovered and finished off, while Skyba played dead and escaped later, hiding injured in a nearby house, only to brought back later, treated, and released.

Initially there should be 6 bodies here - 5 killed then (Kotenko, Prykhidko, Rudenko, Dvornikov, Turovsyki), and one earlier. In March 5 drone view, it seems* 3 are visible, 2 are probably present but hidden by a tree, With some correlation explained in a section below, I can identify three of these, deduce another, and divide the remaining 4 into a pair there early and a pair added later. I just can't say who's who within each pair. And I can identify the odd man out, who was already interesting.

* Adding Nov. 8: this is questioned (Kobs, agreeing with AyazK that probably no bodies are there on the 5th), but so far "questioned" is all I can say.

Seen: 3 bodies almost for sure, including Denys Rudenko, previously reported as the man wearing the bright blue sweatshirt (NYT 5/19) - appearing a bit darker here, besides bigger due to color over-saturation - 2 others seem to be there just to his left and right - but the spots where 3 bodies would later be, along the outer fence, seem to be empty. 

Karpenko, Verbovyi killed out front or inside, moved here later - but the third spot is mysterious. The shrapnel-wounded civilian Kotenko is not there, & also not well-explained. He should be among the 6 bodies there early on. But if so, he's somewhere hidden, moved later. Here's an updated but cluttered graphic to maybe redo soon: 

As explained below, this body was noted to display "multiple bullet and shrapnel wounds," looking perhaps like the "fletchette" variety. In the 144 Yablunska massacre story, with all its tellings, there's no role for shrapnel. Also the body noted with shrapnel has location issues. Kotenko, or the man with striped pants, is among those marched over here. But how he came to be dead by that fence is not fully explained, and might involve an explosive shell going off at this site, or perhaps earlier (he doesn't walk with a limp, but he could be injured from the first view).

Area Deats NOT Explained

Eleven bodies - what would be the biggest concentration in a single spot - indicated in the large building just south of 144 - it has the roof and some upper walls blown away for a good span, in a way it didn't back on March 3 when the Russians first took over here. 

Was this another case of Russians shelling themselves? Who was in there to die when the shells hit? Is 11 maybe just some area total, including the "missing" 3 and the 8 "volunteers" double-counted, but excluding Chaplyhin?

Besides these 11, another concentration of 6 pins nearby is also not explained. That plus the 3 I noted missing from the map, those killed in the white Renault hit by shelling (or were 6 killed there and mis-placed?), and at least 4 other pins nearby = 24+ deaths unexplained in 4+ other incidents. That vs. 9 explained in 2 incidents, after that same tale has been told many times already, with a constant stream of new, supporting video - 3/4 of the deaths just in this corner of town still remain unexplained.  There is some definite evidence of a war crime by Russian forces here, but then as with the rest of the Bucha Massacre, we're getting less than half the story.

---

Appendix: Volunteer Bodies Correlated

From some published morgue photos variously showing bodies and clothing, together as found and separate, with brief notes ... three entries correlate with victims at 144 Yablunska. I hesitate to link to these ostensibly private and likely fragile points of evidence and get them deleted or hidden away. I also don't need to share any pf the photos here. Maybe I do. But for now, I'll just say what I see there. 

Valera Kotenko

До моргу м. Київ, вул. Багговутівська, 1 доставлено тіло 150 невстановленого чоловіка, 45-55 років, зріст 169 см. Виявленийу м. Буча, Яблунська, 144 з множинними кульовими та осколковими пораненнями.

To the morgue, Kyiv, str. Baggovutivska, 1, the body of an unidentified man, 150, 45-55 years old, 169 cm tall, was delivered. with multiple bullet and shrapnel wounds were found in the town of Bucha, 144 Yablunska.

= Valera Kotenko, the only true civilian killed. https://twitter.com/YousurAlhlou/status/1528086561316741120

Law enforcement officers photographed a note next to an unidentified body. “Bucha city, 144 Yablunska Street. Is wearing a black T-shirt and blue joggers with three white stripes.” We identified the man as Valera Kotenko, who worked unloading groceries for a popular retail chain." 

body photos: Striped pants look bluer here than on the body at the scene, but they seem to be the same, just dried out now and under better lighting. Other clothing is consistent. Body photos: extra-good. At least 1 puncture to left chest, lower than heart - maybe lung? close-ups show two pairs of punctures on unclear body parts - maybe lower back thigh and upper chest? pants suggest another injury around the right buttock.

A yellow staining of the belly, arms and face is wort at what seem to be rust stains on his left hand, which would be resting on the metal fence post during heavy runoff if his were the body with matching pants. The other stained parts were left in the water near that rusting fence.

Denys Rudenko

Доставлений до Білоцерківського бюро СМЕ - труп невідомого чоловіка, якого було виявлено 06.04.2022 в м. Буча, вул. Яблунева

"Delivered to the Bilotserki Bureau of the SME - the corpse of an unknown man who was discovered on April 6, 2022 in the city of Bucha, str. Yabluneva" - but the attached photo has a note that says 144 Yablunska (I can make out that part). Clothing: bright blue sweatshirt, blue jeans, dark undershirt, underpants = probably Denys Rudenko. previously reported as the man wearing the bright blue sweatshirt, seen also wearing the rest (NYT 5/19). Bloodstains on his underwear suggests injury to the upper thigh - only head and shoulders shown in body photos - one eye destroyed, maybe bullet exit wound - some teeth may be knocked out - no entry wounds. 

Anatoliy Prykhidko

"Delivered to the Bilotserkiv Bureau of SME from the city of Bucha, str. Yabluneva - Prykhidko Anatoliy Valeriyovych, born on July 22, 1983." Address not given, but there's a name, and he was the one who tried to run, would likely wind up the body alongside the stairs, where I might try running. The photo is grisly, showing predation - hungry stray dogs chewed off his lips and one cheek - video showed the body by the stairs was on his left side, with hood up, but right cheek torn away. Clothing: with a head shot only - top: gray fleece, maybe w/hood, like in the video.